Love Is In The Soup
by Karine Dragon'sheart
Summary: Kaoru has done it again, only this time, the whole dojo is poisoned! KxK, SxM, YxT, AxM. And poor Hiko's all alone.


**Love Is In The Soup**

**A simple tale of love and food poisoning, sort of the extended version of my first KxK story. Usual pairings, deep thoughts. If you don't like character development, don't read.**

**Disclaimer: I haven't done this in a while…but here goes: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, and if I did, I would not be working as a chart runner. Nor would I be living in the middle of nowhere.**

The Kamiya dojo rang with the sounds of pain and anguish, the moans of defeated men. The bravest of Meiji's fighters were all gathered here, some in their own rooms, some in the main hall. Not one was safe from the disease poisoning their systems, not even the women. That illness walked among them, trying to ease their discomfort with steaming miso soup, not of her hand, of course. Kamiya Kaoru, instructor of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu kenjutsu, owner of the Kamiya dojo, and caretaker of several freeloaders. Also the cause of each and every person's food poisoning. For all her expertise in swords, our dear Tanuki shows none of it in food preparation.

"Here, Misao. No, no, Megumi made it." She said hastily as the young Okashira started refuse it. Warily Misao accepted the soup and slumped back down into the blankets next to Aoshi. He was meditating, so she decided to let him be.

"Thanks, Kaoru." The girl nodded and continued on, her tray of bowls balanced carefully in the crook of her arm. The next of the victims was snoring loudly, twitching every now and then. Kaoru sighed at the supine Tori-atama, and laid a bowl down in his massive paw of a hand, making sure not to wake him. Glancing around to the hall's other occupant, she met the gaze of Kenshin's former master, Hiko. He smiled thinly and nodded assent, accepting the steaming liquid from his baka deshi's overseer. She wasn't utterly beautiful, unlike Takani Megumi, but she did hold a sort of prettiness that he was sure Kenshin had fallen in love with.

Alas, her one fault was sure to drive most men away, possibly even Kenshin if she wasn't careful. That damn fool boy was so loyal, though, that he doubted such a thing would occur.

"Thanks, Kamiya-san." She blushed a little at such a respectful title, and mumbled a "You're welcome, Hiko-san.", then walked on back into the private area of the dojo. Here lay the bedrooms, where she, Kenshin, and Yahiko spent most of their time. As it was, the first bedroom she had come to was her apprentice's, Myojin Yahiko. But it wasn't the boy who slid the shoji open, but one of the serving girls from the Akabeko, Tsubame. She was rather pretty, with longish black hair and a small figure, and Kaoru couldn't help but smile as she handed the girl Yahiko's meal. They were both so innocent, and so honorable. Neither would've done a thing to dishonor or hurt the other, and they loved with that truest of affections, when all you need is a glance.

She wished it was the same between her and Kenshin. Such an honorable, wonderful gentleman, with a heart of gold and hair of flames; it wasn't really all that hard for her to believe that he had once been Hitokiri Battosai. Now, she couldn't picture him as the shadowy killer who slew hundreds of men, now that she knew the side of him that she was sure not even Hiko understood. She knew why he had given up the titles and deeds he would have held, she saw his lonely innocence. She also understood why he had started wandering in the first place.

So, wrapped up in her thoughts, Kaoru didn't realize that she had reached the rurouni's room until she came close to walking right through the shoji. But she hesitated, suddenly afraid to even knock on the paper wall, terrified to disturb the one within. Fortunately, her quarry took that action away from her.

"Good morning, Kaoru-dono." She snapped out of her trance, brought on by his soft amethyst eyes.

"Oh, ah…Good morning, Kenshin." She handed him the final bowl, and as his fingers reached to grasp it, they brushed against hers. Her hand snapped back as though it had been burned, and the bowl crashed to the floor below.

"Oh, _kuso_! What a baka I am! Here, Kenshin, let me clean this up." She exclaimed, berating herself.

"Don't fret, Kaoru-dono, it's alright." He had reached into his room for a second and brought out an old rag. As he helped her mop up the mess, she detected the scent of sword oil on the rag. She sniffed again, delicately, and realized that it had been on his hands as well. _Why would he be cleaning his sword?_ She pondered, but thought nothing of it. He was a swordsman, that was a responsibility that he never shirked. _But he's sick…_ She reasoned this out in that he didn't have to stand up to polish a three foot sword. She returned her focus to the task at hand and was dismayed to see that her own towel hadn't done much, while his little rag was sodden. She sighed. He looked up, worried.

"Is something wrong, Kaoru-dono?" She started once more.

"Oh, no, Kenshin. I'll go get you some more soup…" His slender hand caught her shoulder, and turned her gently back to face him.

"There isn't any need for that, Kaoru-dono." She was trying her best not to gape at his mostly open gi, the smooth, well defined muscles of his chest rather inviting.

"But it's nothing to me, Kenshin. Please, let me replace the breakfast that I pretty much destroyed." Those purple eyes laughed kindly.

"This one is fine."

"But you need your strength to get better."

"This one's strength isn't nourished by food."

"Then what does it feed on? Something heroic, like your rescues?" He smiled slightly, a rather queer smile, as though he was about to reveal something no one else knew. He moved closer to her, backing her up against the wall, the closest she had been to him since Jin-e had tried to kill her, since Kenshin had cradled her close to him. He set his hands up against the wall near her waist-level, and leaned forward, his lips near her ear.

"You ask what my strength depends on? My strength is born of a rather attractive young woman whose heart and soul I long to hold tight forever in my arms. My strength is a gi-clad instructor of a peaceful sword fighting technique who could hold her own with a real sword against even me. My strength is a woman who cared for me and has loved me for far longer than anyone else." By now Kaoru was shivering with happiness and delight. _He loves me…_"My strength is right here in front of me. Kaoru-koishii…" He pulled away enough to meet her eyes, his own dancing in the early morning light. She met him full on when he leaned in again, this time his lips slightly open, and his eyes half-closed in love.

Sanosuke groaned as he sat up at the sound of the noon bang, and almost dumped a bowl of cold miso soup on his chest. He sighed and set it down, careful because Megumi would kill him for the mess, and because Jou-chan would kill him for breaking another of her dwindling supply of bowls. He gazed sleepily around the room, rather discouraged to see that Hiko had finally dozed off. He was even grumpier when he noticed that the master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu hadn't left a single drop of his favorite sake in the jug at his side. He looked around again, and was sickened by the sight of Misao and Aoshi snuggled up together, or rather, Misao snuggling up to a stone-set onmitsu.

The soft clatter of pots and pans in the dojo's large kitchen alerted the ex-gangster to the good doctor Megumi's whereabouts, and he stepped into the kitchen looking for a warmer meal.

"Noon, Fox. What's for lunch?" She stopped a bit and pitied him with a smile, then handed off a bowl of fresh ramen.

"Edible food, rooster-head." He just picked up his chopsticks and dug in, far too intent on actual food than the insult. Within minutes, he was done, and some of the pallor he and the others had been affected with had pretty much disappeared. He yawned and handed her the bowl back.

"Where's Jou-chan? I'd have thought she'd be the little busy-body, trying to make up for nearly killing us." The young woman sighed and started cooking rice.

"I really don't know. She was helping here this morning, then she just vanished. I've been too busy to go look for her. Her last delivery was to Ken-san, so you might check there first." She chuckled at that, and the fox ears sprung up. Sano raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"You're thinking that maybe they finally…?"

"Yes, and if they are, it might be wise to just listen through the door. Nobody knows what Ken-san's like during that particular act." He grinned and ambled off, rather amused at the thought of Kenshin and Kaoru…together and not merely master and servant. The small rurouni had become one of Sano's closest friends, and he knew that Kenshin considered him a friend as well. Kaoru, though a bit annoying in her jealousy for anyone near Kenshin, was a good kid, and he wouldn't mind seeing those two as a couple. He neared Kenshin's door, and wasn't surprised to hear warm laughter and giggles. Curiosity overcame respect and he slid the shoji back a little, and was entreated to an eyeful of a shirtless Kenshin on top of a soon-to-be-naked Kaoru.

He smirked and gently slid the shoji shut, careful not to startle either of them. But as he trod back to the kitchen, he wished that his relationship with Megumi had at least a touch of their warmth. True, he had alienated her when she first came to him and Kenshin, especially when he had learned that she had been the one to manufacture the deadly Spider's Web opium. She was beautiful, talented, elegant, and smart. _She was the enemy to me._ But when Sano learned that though she knew that she was killing people, she was trying to find the remnants of her family, he felt sorry for her. His only family had been brutally ripped from him, and he understood where her heart lay.

She had been courageous enough to go back to Takeda Kanryu and try to kill him, hoping that her newfound friends would be saved from death. He hadn't wanted to go save her then, still disgusted that a woman would willing make a drug to kill people, until Kenshin confronted him, and faced him down. Sano had never seen the rurouni so angry at anyone before, and was rather shocked to find that anger at him. It was Kenshin's description of Megumi's loneliness, his insight into her sadness, that shook him, and changed his mind. He stopped now, just before the kitchen doorway, and peeked in, a small smile on his lips. There she was, her hair tied back, her face reddened from the brazier's heat, her manner tired. Since Kaoru had mass-poisoned all but herself and Megumi, the poor Fox had been busy cooking for everyone else.

She straightened up suddenly, and Sano had to cover a moan at her very attractive figure. As hot as the kitchen was, Megumi had taken off her over kimono, and the under was apparently very slinky, because it clung to her every curve. Without reason, Sanosuke suddenly rounded the corner and stood there, that small smile still touching his face. She wasn't fazed by his arrival at all.

"Checked on them, rooster-head?" He didn't answer, his brown eyes warming with an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. She noticed the soft gentleness that seemed to make his tall frame not so stone-like, his wild, gravity-defying hair not so outlandish and embarrassing.

"What's going on, Sano?" He felt a thrill race through him. She had used his name, not the insults he always got. He walked calmly to her, those entrancing sapphires not quite understanding what he was doing, what he meant. But she didn't back away, didn't try to push him from her. Here they were, standing in the middle of a kitchen, eyes locked on one another, disbelief easing from both and confidence building. Dimly, Sano remembered that Kaoru had been the one to 'mention' that Megumi not only liked him, but was trying her best not to fall in _love_ with him. He was, after all, an ex-gangster, a freeloader, and without a job, he couldn't support her. But they say love conquers all, and if that was really the case…

"Sanosuke…?"

"It's alright, Megumi." There, he said her name.

"Sano, your eyes…"

"What about them?"

"They're so, gentle. What's happened to you?" Now she was the doctor, worrying that something had knocked his brain out of sorts. He stopped her hands from examining his body, and stooped down to meet her, face to face.

"Megumi, I know I'm not the best of guys, but…" He paused, searching her face, hoping to see the vestiges of something more than friendship. Her slow recognition was his answer. _Oh Kami, yes…_

"Megumi, I love you."

Tsubame smiled and set the empty bowl outside of Yahiko's shoji, and stepped back in, trying not to laugh as he sat there, fuming with anger at Kaoru for incapacitating him, and himself for eating so much of her food. His bed was the neatest in the house, thanks in no small part to Tsubame and her industrious fingers. She stepped silently back to his side and sat, her legs folded beneath her, her eyes on the floor. She could hear Yahiko breath, the slow in and out soothing her. She felt her conscious self drift away and let her eyelids close, the same old dreams coming to life.

…Yahiko and her cleaning up the Akabeko after a long night, Yahiko offering to walk her home, confident in his abilities with the shinai strapped to his back. They were just walking in the darkened streets, a small bit of conversation being passed back and forth, nothing important. Suddenly, ninjas and goblins and shadowy killers with naked blades seem to immerge from the very street beneath her. Tsubame cowered in fear, covering her face, not daring to look at the ones who seemed to be after her. But she heard yells and screams from their attackers, and a fierce cry of victory from the throat of her savior. She peeked out and was astounded and delighted to see Yahiko walk over to her, holding out a hand, his eyes worried.

She reached to touch his hand when the dream dissipated and the real Yahiko was staring at her quizzically. She frantically tried to regain control of her senses before he realized that she had fallen asleep.

"Tsubame? Heelllooo! Earth to Tsubame!" Finally she managed to speak.

"I'm fine, Yahiko."

"You're sure? You aren't having problems from Ugly's food still, are you? Megumi might want to hear about this…"

"Really, Yahiko. I'm fine. I just dozed off for a bit. I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you." She rose as gracefully as Megumi and was going to leave.

"Wait, Tsubame!" She turned to face him, blushing for falling asleep when he needed her.

"How long has it been since you actually took a nap?" That question threw her off completely.

"Oh, ah, um…I don't really remember. I just usually sleep where I fall." He looked guilty.

"I've been keeping you from your rest. Please go and lie down. You don't need to stay up all day and half the night just to keep me company." He grinned now. "I have a drunken Sano to do that. Or Hiko. Just depends on who hasn't passed out already." She smiled and nodded, but didn't leave the room. She shut the shoji calmly, and walked daintily back over to the bedside. He looked rather peeved that she hadn't left, he thought that she was going to just sit up and stay awake. He, of course, was wrong.

"Yahiko…" She took a breath and reached and took his hand, holding it in both of hers.

"Yahiko, you aren't taking away my rest. But if it really bothers you, then…" She fought down the butterflies in her stomach and shivered, but met his rich brown eyes without fear.

"Then let me rest by your side." He stared at her, stunned by the normally reluctant girl's request. But he was glad to indulge her. Without a word, he flipped back the covers and helped her into the bed, careful, as though she were a porcelain figurine. She wrapped both of her arms around his neck, and as he pulled the blankets back into place, he felt, rather than heard, a single word, and he grinned like a fool as he laid down himself, repeating it into her ear.

"Aishiteru…"

"Misao? May I ask as to why you are out here?" Aoshi leaned tiredly against the door, watching his young Okashira. She sat on the porch edge, one hand propping up her head, the other lying on her knee. She wasn't the most lady-like of women, nor the most elegant. But he let one of his rare smiles show now, where she couldn't see, because for all that she wasn't, there was so much more that she was.

"Just thinking. I take it you saw the rooster and the fox in the kitchen?" He snorted.

"As if it wasn't hard to miss. Himura and Kaoru are doing the same thing."

"Yeah, I heard." She turned around and scrunched up her face in disgust. He hid a smile.

"Is love really that pathetic? I mean, come on!" He shrugged.

"Depends on the person. Of course, knowing Kaoru's cooking, she may have something to do with this new display of emotion." Misao chuckled, and Aoshi's heart skipped a beat. That wonderful laugh and bright smile that he had seen for so long took on a new meaning. He suddenly wanted to take her up in his arms and…_What am I thinking! Misao's young enough to be my little sister! I can't possibly…or can I?_

"Actually, that would make sense. Kaoru's always adding some weird ingredient. I bet that she found some really gnarly mushrooms, threw 'em into the soup and made some sort of love potion to catch Himura, and ended up making everyone but us and Hiko love-crazy." For a change, that actually did make sense. Of course, Aoshi doubted that Kaoru had known what she put in her own cooking, since she had a hard time just recognizing common vegetables. But it did have merit, although he wasn't so sure he hadn't been affected by it as well.

"Misao, I think that maybe the two most obvious of couples weren't the only ones whose opinions of each other changed." He kept his expression as stony as usual, but Misao had known him for far too long to not sense his agitation. She stood and sidled up to him, her eyes uncertain.

"What do you mean, Aoshi-sama?" He took a deep breath.

"I-" He glanced down at her, and suddenly felt as though the whole world was spinning, falling. He steadied himself against the door frame, waited for the bout of dizziness to end, and found a frightened Misao clinging to his waist.

"Aoshi-sama? Speak to me!"

"I-I'm alright, Misao. I just need to think for a while." With that, he gently unwrapped her arms and surged off of the porch, headed for the river bank. Her soft touch had been so wonderfully soothing…_No, no, I can't get involved with her. She's too young, too easy to hurt. I've done my best to protect her all her life and so many times I've hurt her. I can't do it again…I love her too much._ He pulled his trench coat closer to his body and fought the urge to run back to her.

Finally the river came into sight and he threw himself down on the grasses, sighing as the sun started to fall. It was a beautiful sunset, with wide washes of orange and fuchsia, the first few stars beginning to shine. It would have been perfect for romance. Fireflies dancing in the air and trees, the breeze just quiet enough to be comforting, soft birdsong the best of orchestras. _Oh, Misao…_

And the object of his wishes and dreams wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and swung into his lap, her eyes dancing with mischief.

"Misao…"

"Aoshi. You're right, the soup messed us all up. For some reason or another, you are the only one I want to spend the night with. But I don't think it's merely the food that changed our minds, eh?" She grinned, and he couldn't help but grin in return, his face to the normal person just barely smiling, but to Misao, his was a mirror image of her own.

"If that's true, Misao-chan…"

"Aw, don't call me Misao-_chan_. You know I hate being called 'little kid'!"

"Would Misao-koishii make you happier?" She looked truly star-struck, and realized that he really did love her. She didn't bother answering, but moved on to the much more intimate conversation of a kiss…

Hiko finally woke up around midnight, much to his chagrin, and went in search of human company. As he stood up, he realized that he wasn't alone in the dojo hall. Over in the far corner, a lump of blankets stirred and one very long, muscular male arm stretched and resettled over the bundle in front of him. Nearby lay the two ninjas' clothing, and Hiko recognized the younger one's daggers and Aoshi's trench coat.

He smirked and trod on, passing the empty kitchen, and checked in on the young apprentice. Yahiko, the deshi Kaoru trained, was curled up around his little girl. Tsunami? Suzame? No, Tsubame, that was it. Hiko didn't smirk at them, because he was starting to feel an acute loneliness, akin to what he had felt in the mountains, far from humans and sake. But this time, it was worse, an ache that no amount of exercise would take away or cover. He slid the shoji closed and walked on, heading next for his own deshi's room.

Sliding the shoji open quietly, Hiko wasn't surprised to see Kenshin and Kaoru fast asleep. He smiled faintly at the rich mane his deshi still maintained, the brilliant red mixing with his lover's blue-black locks. He held on to her tightly, the protectiveness and want evident in his posture, one hand on her waist, one on his sakabato. He backed out silently, starting to truly feel lost and utterly alone. His heart called for something…but what? Sake wasn't the answer, and neither was sex. He just didn't know.

He sighed and headed back the way he had come, quickly crossing the hall and shoving open the shoji, intent on just getting out of this place. He didn't notice the two sleeping bodies in his path until they were under his sandals, and he went flying across the yard, partially from tripping, mostly from a sleepy Sanosuke reacting to instinct and throwing the thirteenth master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu right through the dojo wall. The ensuing uproar woke everyone, and embarrassed all but Yahiko, who remained blissfully out cold, with the girls screaming, the men cursing, and Hiko roaring.

All in all, the usual schedule for the Kenshin-gumi.

**Heh heh heh. Kaoru actually cooks something useful. By the way, the soup just uncovers the feelings each couple has for each other. It does not force them all into bed. (That happens to be their wishes) **

**Kenshin: You are so twisted sometimes.**

**KD: Well duh!**

**Kaoru: -brandishes bokken- Nobody needs to know about my cooking!**

**KD: Yes they do. I'm warning them.**

**Sanosuke: Thank kami!**

**Aoshi: I agree.**

**Misao: Here, here!**

**Kenshin: Now, now, please don't upset her-ORO!**

**Kaoru: You'll all pay for this! -beats the hell out of all of us-**

**KD: RUN!**

**Hiko: Sake anyone?**

**Laters!**

**KD**

**Ah hah! Review time! Gawd, I was bowled over by the responses from you guys, and rather teary that such an audience was actually mine. -sniff- Here are my thanks, to all of you!**

**First off, my first review for LIITS:**

_**kenfan-Yeah, I wanted to do more on the couples, but I was a little taken back by how long it was already, and my creative juices kicked the bucket right after I finished it. Sigh. Thanks again, and I'm glad it wasn't just a crappy story.**_

_**lolo popoki-In fact, Kaoru's cooking and my own aren't too different. (Ask Black Moon Wolf7, she knows what I mean.) Thanks again, and as soon as I can, I'll get back to reading.**_

_**animeguzman-I will, I will! Thanks!**_

_**sesslover101-Thank you! And no, I didn't know that my pen name was in your fic. I actually came up with that for one of my YYH OC's but that story never made it past chapter one. So now I've got a weird screen name that no one but the most devout of fans of Asian History. **_

_**Crewel-Of course I will! Sano was, and still is, a secret crush of mine, so there'll be more where that came from as soon as I can beat back writer's block. Thank you again for reading my pathetic excuse for a story.**_

_**Black Moon Wolf7-Yes, you twisted my innocent mind back in freshmen year. And yes, it's showing in my writing. But I'll have you know that it wasn't all due to you. That was when my first dunking in mainstream anime came about. Oh, and I got a hold of both Wolf's Rain books, come over sometime. Laters, Squirt!**_

_**Coke-48-Kenshin-lol. Yay, you reviewed…I'm bored.**_

_**Black Metalmark-Yes, it's a oneshot, and thank you! (Kaoru beating up the Kenshin-gumi) Hey, stop that! I need these idiots! OWWWWW! **_

**Well, that's it for now, folks. Love you all!**

**Laters!**

**KD**


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